Egg incubation



E. B. DE LA RUE.

EG-G INCUBATION. APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 191's.

RENEWED MAR. I8, 1922.

lPzmnted Oct. 241, 1922.

m 2 m w M "WW E viii WWW atented at... A, I2

EDWARD B. DE LA RUE, OF DEVON, PENNSYLVANIA.

nee rrrcnnarron.

Application filed truly at, 1919, Serial No.

To all whom it may concern: a

Be it known'that I, EDWARD B. DE LA RUE, of Devon, in the county ofChester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Egg Incubation, whereofv the following is aspecification, reference being had 'to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in artificial incubationof eggshaving speclal reference to the admission of moisture to the eggs beingincubated.

It has heretofore been common to provide I moisture in incubators bymeans of pans or sponges containing water. however, have never provedentirely successful, owing to the fact that the vapor pressure in anyincubatingchamber, and, therefore, the amount of moisture absorbed bythe air,- depends on temperature, climatic conditions, and the amount ofair circulation in the incubating chamber, conditions whichvary greatlyfrom day to day.

I have discovered, however, that by' admitting live steam to to thechicks at hatching.

In the drawing I have shown a transverse vertical section of anincubator having appropriate steam connections for practicingmyinvention. The incubator shown comprises an incubating chamber 1,formed in a casing mounted on legs 2. Within the chamber I provide anordinary egg tray 3, upon which the eggs may be placed. The chamber isheated by any suitable means, such as the lamp 5, with the .ueual'hotair circulation controlled by appropriate thermostatic means, aswell-known in the art. This keeps the temperature constant at thepro-per point and regulates the amount of air admitted to the chamber 1.

In the lower part of chamber 1, I provide a pipe 7, which may extendlongitudinally therethrough below the egg tray. Pipe 7, is provided witha plurality of apertures 8, and is connected by suitable means. such asthe pipe 9, to a tank or boiler 10. This tank These methods, I

the interior of the incubating chamber at intervals during the.

aiatco, Renewed March 1a, 1922. serial no. sate-re.

cylinder having a central aperture 20, with a support 11, provided belowit for a lamp 12, or other suitable means for heating the water in thetank. from an inlet opening 13, and.- emptied through an outlet opening141;, which may be arranged in any form desired. Pipe 9, is providedwith a suitable valve 15, by which the-admission of the steam generatedin the tank 10, topipe 7, may be regulated.

In carrying out my improved process, water is placed in tank 10, andheated by lamp 12, until a sufficient quantity of steam is generated. 1By turning valve 15, the

Tank 10, may be filled into the incubating chamber 1, through openings8, which may be fortned on one or both sides of pipe 7. The amount ofsteam admitted can be controlled by the valve. The admission of steam inthis way saturates the air in chamber 1, and provides the moisturenecessary to proper incubation, and furthermore, penetrates the'eggshells, thereby softening and loosening them.

In practice I have found that good results are obtained by admittingsteam for a period of thirty seconds'twice each day after the seventhday. This is continued until the nineteenth day. During the nineteenthand twentieth days, however, steam is admitted three times a day for aperiod of thirty seconds, this being repeated on the twenty-first day ifthe eg s have not already started to hatch. In such case it may even beadvisable on that day to a longer period than thirty seconds. Theinvention, however, is not limited or confined to the arrangement andform of incubator shown in the drawings, butmay be practiced with anydevices which provide means for supplying steam and means orperiodically subjecting eggs to the action of the same in controlledquantities. This voluminous bath of live steam may be produced, forinstance, by introducing into the incubator chamber beneath the eggs alarge pad (or a blanket sufiicien'tly folded) soaked or saturated withboiling hot water, allowing it to remain for some fifteen to thirtyseconds or a little longer, etc.,according to the schedule stated above,

IIaving thus described my invention, I claim: i

1. The process of egg incubation which consists in subjecting the eggsto "air at the proper temperature during the incubation;

admit steam for period, and also subjecting them periodi cally for shortintervals to a bath of live 2. The process of egg incubation whlchconsists in maintaining eggs at incubatin temperature during theincubation perio and also subjecting them for brief intervals of time toa vapor bath at a temperature considerably above the incubatingtemperature.

8. The process of egg incubation which consists in maintaining the eggsat incubat-- ing temperature during the incubation period, exposed tothe atmospheric air as usual, and periodically subjecting the eggs, forbrief intervals, to a voluminous bath of live steam at a temperatureconsiderably above the incubating temperature.

6. The process of egg incubation which consists in maintaining eggs atincubating temperature during the incubation period. and periodicallysubjecting the eggs to a voluminous bath of vapor at a temperatureexceeding the incubating temperature.

7. The process of egg incubation with exposure to live steam,substantially herein set forth and described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, this 24th day of July, 1919.

EDWARD B. DE LA RUE.

Witnesses: JAMES H. BELL,

E. L. FULLERTON.

